Trust in Traditional Finance and Consumer Fintech Adoption

Abstract

We study the role of trust in traditional finance in the consumer adoption of various fintech products, including cryptocurrencies, peer-to-peer lending, other crowdfunding, roboadvisors, and alternative payment solutions. Using an online lab experiment, an experiment on an investment website, and a representative survey of Dutch households, we find no consistent evidence that trust in banks affects fintech adoption in any of the product categories, although we find weak evidence suggesting that trust in banks positively affects interest in alternative payment apps. Our results do not support the narrative that trust in traditional finance is a major driver of fintech adoption. (JEL D14, G23, G41, G50)